California Dreaming
by BluejayInTheSky
Summary: Love blooms between a homesick artist and a songbird Brit in the hills of California. When the band Two Spot Gobi visit America to record a new album, lead singer James never expected to find a new friend, and a new love. James Robinson/OC
1. Chapter 1

Name: Jessica Key  
>Height: 5'7"<br>Weight: 125  
>Hair: Chesnutt Brown<br>Eyes: Brown  
>Birthplace: Lansing, Michigan<br>Current location: California

9a.m. and I was off. My morning routine was usually the same every day. Wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed in running gear, and go running. This morning was different though because I was out of milk so I skipped breakfast. As I stepped out the door I noticed that my best friend Luke was just waking up. See, Luke and I lived on a little compound that he bought and built. It was pretty small, just enough for 3 small buildings, but it was great. I had my own small building on it that was big enough for a small kitchen, a small bathroom, and the living room double as my bed room. Luke's building was a little bigger. Enough for him to have a separate living room and bedroom. And the third building was his 'play area' as he liked to call it. It held a music studio, which is how he makes a living, and all the little toys and gadgets he could ever want were there. I ran up to him just as he left his small house and called out a small greeting before I reached him. "Oh hey Jay" he replied groggily, using his nickname for me. He must have just woken up. "So when's the new band coming in?" He had told me yesterday that he was going to be working with a new band today. "Oh, right I forgot about them" I held back my laughter at his ignorance. He actually forgets things a lot. "I guess they'll get here around 11" He finally said. "Well I'm going for my run now so I'll try and get back before they get here" I said before giving him a pat on the shoulder and running down the street and into town. I stuck to my normal path which consisted of running through town, around the park, and back. It was a simple route and it would leave me plenty of time to get back and help Luke. I always tried to be there when new bands came because sometimes they would hire me to do their album work. Luke always said having an artist nearby when recording new albums was always a plus. I drifted off into my thoughts and before I knew it I was already on the last stretch home. As soon as I realized that I also realized that I was starving. I pushed myself into high gear as hunger took over and bolted across the street to take a short cut. Unfortunately I didn't bother to look before I ran and was clipped by a passing van. I toppled to the ground and looked back to see who hit me, but I was caught by a pair of beautiful blue eyes. Sitting in the passenger seat of the van was a man with brown hair styled up and the most gorgeous blue eyes I ever saw. He stuck his head out his window and was returning my stare right back. I was so taken by his eyes that when the driver stuck his head out and asked if I was ok it barely registered in my head. But after a few seconds I regained my composure and said I was fine, even though I never looked to see if I truly was. I just quickly stood up and took off running again with only one last glance at that guy. I swear he was burned in my head. His scruffy beard, his light brown hair, and those eyes. I had never seen eyes like his. When I reached the other side of the street I jumped over a small fence that lead to a short cut back home. When I was atop the fence I could feel a tingling on the back of my head, I whipped around to see his fading blue eyes on me as his van drove away. _Who is he? _I thought to myself as my front door came into view through the trees. When I finally walked through the door I was huffing and puffing and sweat was pouring down my body, one quick glance at the clock and I knew I had to shower before I did anything else. I forced my aching body to the bathroom and turned on the shower, though I kept the heat fairly low because I was already extremely hot. I shrugged my clothes off and stepped in, feeling the pain leaving my muscles as the water poured down me, but it was quickly replaced by a sharp pain on my right leg. I looked down and saw that I did have a gash on my right thigh and it was now bleeding, how I missed that is a wonder. I wrapped a wash cloth around it and I stood there just standing in the water for about 20 minutes before I finally washed up and climbed out. I dried my body off, being careful of the gash, but didn't bother blow drying my hair or even combing it, I just fixed it up and let it be. I wrapped my thigh with some bandages and got dressed quickly. I decided to just throw on some jeans and a loose tank top, my usual clothing, and walked out of the bathroom. The clock on the wall said only 10:30 so I grabbed an apple and walked off to find Luke. I saw that the door to his house was open so the band must not have arrived yet, usually when a new band is here he sticks to the recording studio. Luke was like a brother to me so we never worried about knocking. I've walked in on him and he's walked in on me and we've never been bothered by it, we actually usually joke about it. There's never been anything romantic between us either, which most people find surprising cause Luke is actually a 'ladies man'. I wandered in the kitchen and called out a hello from there. "Hey Jay, how was your run?" I heard him call from another room, the living room I guessed. My mind instantly went back to the guy in the van. Luke and I never hid anything from each other so decided to share. "Well it was pretty good, passed by some new shops that I'm thinking of checking out. I got hit by a van though." I said with a grimace as I looked down at my leg. The bandages were visual through the rips in my jeans so he'd notice them eventually if I hadn't told him. "There was a guy in it though that was pretty hot though" I finished with a smile. I grabbed a water bottle and wandered into the living room. I was stopped dead in my tracks though when I was again met by beautiful blue eyes. The guys from that very van were all in the living room and Luke was lounging on a chair in the corner. My face was instantly red as I stared around the room. I felt my heart beating in my chest as the guy with blue eyes instantly stood up. "Hi" he said and I instantly noticed he had a British accent that made my knees weak. "My name is James. And this is my band Two Spot Gobi"


	2. Chapter 2

_The rest of the chapters will have half of it in James POV so that you can get the full picture of what's going on. Hope you like it!_

"Hi my name is James. This is my band Two Spot Gobi"  
>My face lit up red at the sight of them all there. Luke glanced up and was looking between me and James as we stood there just staring, although James had a goofy grin on his face. It was cute though, which only made me blush more. I couldn't even speak, though that didn't seem to bother him. He just sat there smiling and staring at me. "Do you two know each other?" Luke asked, breaking the silence. "Well, not really" I managed to mumbled awkwardly, "These are the guys in the van that hit me" One of the guys started laughing when I said that and I saw the driver, who was standing by a bookcase, look down at his feet. "Yeah, sorry about that" he said, allowing his dark brown hair to hide his face. The guy that was laughing now stood from his seat on the couch and walked over to me. He had a smile in his eyes and his long brown hair was partially hidden beneath a fedora, he had a large grin on his face when he slung his arm over my shoulders. I stiffened at the movement but didn't move. "Well hello there. My name's Matt and it's nice to meet you" He said, "And the man that hit you is Dino" He seemed to shrink a little when he said his name and I couldn't help but give a small laugh. "So, Jay was it?" I heard James pipe up. I had to look down at my feet to hide the blush that crept up when he spoke. "U-um, well it's actually Jessica. But my friends call me Jessie. Luke calls me Jay" I managed to say. "Well Jessie, what was that you were just saying?" Matt asked with a sly grin on his face. I cringed a little. "Um, nobody heard what I said did they?" I asked. My question was answered quickly when I noticed everyone smile and Luke started to laugh. "I'm afraid we did darling" Luke said in between laughs. When Matt started to laugh I quickly shrugged his arm off my shoulders and said "Ok ok I get it. No need to laugh at me". "We're not laughing at you" Matt said innocently, he even had a small pout on his face. "Yeah, and my name's Barney" I said rolling my eyes. "Alright alright, retract the claws Jay" Luke said. "Yeah yeah, I'll be in my house if you need me" I said quickly. I couldn't stay in that room any longer, if I did my face would be permanently red with James continually staring at me. I waved my goodbye as I walked out the door and back to my house. I looked at the clock on my wall and it still wasn't even 11 yet. With a soft sigh I grabbed my jar of paint brushes and a jar of paint and set off to relax in my own way.<p>

James POV

Her long brown hair trailed behind her as she walked out the door and I couldn't help but stare after her. And I didn't stop staring at the door until I felt Matt nudge my side. "So Luke is she your girlfriend?" I snapped to attention when Matt asked that. "Nah, she's more like a sister to me" I let out a breath that I had no idea I was holding when I heard his response. I don't know why, but my heart sank when I thought of her having a boyfriend. "Why? Are you interested in her?" Luke asked as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. I haven't known Luke for very long, we had actually only met a few months ago when he was visiting our home town of Brighton, but I could already tell when he was playing at something. "Me? Well I just might be. But we don't know who she was talking about though" Matt said, though I noticed he glanced at me. "R-right. We don't truly know" I managed to say. I slumped back down into my chair as Luke started telling us about his compound, and although I was only half listening I still got the just of it. Apparently he was still building the house we would stay in and we would have to stay in his living room since we were low on cash. He said that he was supposed to have the building done before we got there but heavy rain caused a delay. I didn't think much of it though; I was too busy wondering about that girl. Jessie. I wanted to know everything about her. I was drawn from my thoughts though when Matt tossed a pillow at my head. "Hey James, where's your head man?" "Hmm? Oh right. Sorry man I was just thinking about things" I said quickly. He gave me a quick smirk before he stood up and said "Well I think I'm going to go walk about" and left the room with a smile. I had a bad feeling about his plans so I quickly excused myself and followed after him. As soon as I was out the door I spotted him heading in the opposite direction of the exit. He was heading straight for the other house on the complex. Jessie's house.


	3. Chapter 3

_How often would be good to update this? Every 2 days? Every day? I can write one or two chapters in one sitting and i've already got about 6 or more chapters typed up. Need some help with this._

Jessie's POV

I tore open another can of paint and took a look at what I had on my canvas. Red, orange, and yellow swirled in a beautiful sunset, and the blue I had in hand was going to make a wonderful sea below. I just grabbed another paint brush when there was a light knocking on my door behind me. I turned to see Matt looking at me through the panes of glass in the door. I set my stuff down and gave him a small wave as I walked to the door and opened it. "Hey Matt what's up?" I asked as I shielded my eyes from the late morning sun. "Hey, since I'm new to town I was wondering if you could show me around" He said with a smile. I was about to turn him down, being more interested in painting, but just as I was about to speak James ran up to us. "Hey Matt I thought I'd join you on your walk!" He said cheerfully before turning to me and saying "Hey are you coming too?" I knew I had to start getting comfortable around him; he was going to be here for a while. With a longing glace at my painting I heaved a soft sigh and grabbed my keys. "Yeah I'm coming too. Someone needs to keep you two from getting lost" They both smiled and laughed when I said that, which calmed me down enough to smile back. I stepped past them and started walking towards the tree line. "Hey, where are you going?" I heard Matt say from behind me. "I'm taking a short cut. This leads right down into town" I replied simply. They followed behind me quietly as we walked through the trees, but I could hear their clothing ruffling so I knew they were gesturing to each other. I looked back at them and they instantly threw their arms down to their sides and smiled at me. I gave a half smile back and turned back around. _Well, this is going to be an interesting walk. _

James POV

Matt and I walked side by side behind Jessie as we made our way to town. I wanted to know why Matt wanted Jessie to come with us, though I knew I couldn't just ask with her right in front of us. Luckily though, Matt and I have been friends for a long time. So when I started gesturing to him, he instantly knew what I was getting at. Though his reply was only a shrug, which annoyed me. 'Why do you care?' he mouthed to me throwing his arms up. And that's when I realized how… Unlike myself I was being. Matt and I have never fought over a girl. I noticed Jessie turning around so we both froze and forced smiles. I'm not sure she bought it though since she only gave us a half smile back. We both shut up after that and just continued walking. After a few minutes of silence I could start to see the town through the trees, I jogged up ahead to catch up with Jessie and hopefully have a conversation. "So how long have you lived here?" She must not have heard we come up to her because she jumped slightly when I spoke. But she quickly calmed down and responded. "Oh I've actually only been here for a few months. I used to live in Michigan" I noticed she got a faraway look when she said that and she looked kind of angry, but she quickly shook her head slightly and her beautiful smile returned. It seemed to me to be a touchy subject, so I decided to talk about something else. "So where are we going?" As soon as I said that, Matt joined us on Jessie's other side. "I bet it'll be grand" He commented with a cheesy grin, though she paid him no mind. "I thought I'd show you the boardwalk. It's my favorite place to go" she said calmly. "Well that sounds great!" Matt said enthusiastically. I added a soft yeah that I was surprised anyone could hear over Matt's excitement, but when she turned to me and gave me a quick smile I felt almost lighter, if that makes sense.


	4. Chapter 4

Jessie's POV

"So I know you guys are in the band, but what are your roles?" We had gotten into town now and after shopping around for a while, and learning more and more about each other, we were now sitting down at a table overlooking the water and beach, relaxing with some ice cream. "Well I am the greatest trumpet player in all of Brighton" Matt said while puffing out his chest for added effect. James and I burst out laughing, causing Matt to deflate and give a small pout. "Oh don't worry Matt. I'm sure you are the greatest in Brighton" I said giving him a small pat on the shoulder. He gave me a big small before I turned to James. "What about you? Greatest guitarist in Brighton?" I asked with a laugh. He let out a laugh before answering, and I couldn't help but notice he had an amazing laugh. "No no, I'm the singer in the band" "Greatest singer!" Matt added. "Oh really? Well I guess I'll have to listen to you guys practice. Get to see the greatest in person" I looked back over to Matt to see a sly grin planted on his face. I knew he was planning something. "Well I may not have my trumpet with me, but James over here always has his 'instrument'" Matt said with what I'm guessing was his attempt at innocence. James immediately looked at Matt and that started a staring contest. That went on for about four minutes before the table shook and I saw James grab at his leg. I was amazed when he stood from the table and started to sing one of the most wonderful songs I have ever heard. I guessed the name to be 'Sunshine lady' as in was said a lot in the chorus. Matt started to beat on the table along with the song and James pulled me from my seat and started dancing with me. My face lit up red when I noticed people were stopping and watching and I tried to hide it with laughter. But soon enough James dropped me back on my seat and he finished his song to a round of applause from the small audience. I couldn't help but start laughing, it was a nervous habit of mine, but it didn't seem to bother either of them. In fact they were actually giving each other a less then friendly look. I don't know what they were trying to communicate to each other but I knew they wanted to talk rather than just glare. "Um, that was great guys! But if you will excuse me I need to find the little girls room" I said quickly as I stood from the table. Leaving them to settle what had to be settled.

James POV

We finally settled down at a small table on the boardwalk with an ice cream cone each. We had been talking all day and I was amazed by what I learned about her. Apparently she was an artist in almost all meanings of the word. She painted, drew both cartoons and pretty detailed pictures of plants and flowers and such, she sculpted, sewed, designed, everything! I was amazed! And now she asked about me, eh, I mean us. She asked about our places in the band. I was just about to speak when Matt decided he would go first. And his over dramatic claim made both of us laugh, though I felt almost sick when she placed her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way. I knew the smile he gave her, he gave it to every girl he hit on. But when she turned her soft brown eyes on me I almost forgot how to breathe. "What about you? Greatest guitarist in Brighton?" I couldn't help but laugh along with her. It was almost contagious. I said I was the singer and Matt added that I was the greatest. When she said she'd come watch us practice I felt my stomach flip. _What's happening to me? Why am I feeling like this? I just met her! _Then I heard Matt pipe up about not having his trumpet and I knew where he was going with it. He had done this before and most of the time it didn't turn out well. It seems that people don't always like being made the center of attention out in public. We stared each other down for who knows how long just daring the other to say something. I was just about to open my mouth when Matt sent a swift kick to my leg. I grumbled a few choice words to him before I stood from the table. Looking down at Jessica's beautiful brown eyes and hair shining in the sun I knew immediately what song to sing. The lyrics to 'Sunshine Lady' fit her like a glove and they flowed from my lips like a river. As I sang more and more I got happier. I even decided to take a chance and pulled her from her seat and started dancing with her, and my heart fluttered when she laid her hand on my shoulder and danced. I noticed her face light up red and I couldn't help but laugh when she let out a nervous chuckle. We danced for a little while longer as I sang and when I was getting to the end of the song I decided to end her embarrassment and let her drop back to her seat. As I let the ending note draw out I heard people around us clapping and cheering. I hadn't even noticed them start to crowd around. I sat back down and looked over at Matt to see him glaring at me. I knew why too. He was upset that I started dancing with her when I knew he was trying to make a move on her. I returned the glare as Jessie's laughter became a background noise. I was only vaguely aware of her saying something about a room before she walked away from the table. When she was out of earshot we broke eye contact and Matt spoke his mind. "What was that?" He questioned. "That was me dancing with Jessie" I replied nonchalantly. "No that was not! You saw me trying to make a move on her. Why are you making one?" he started to raise his voice, so I tried to calm him down. "Matt, come on. You said it yourself! We don't know who she was talking about!" _Though I have a feeling I know. _"Why are we fighting over her when we're not even sure?" He calmed down when I said that, though he still looked slightly upset. But after a few seconds of silence his usual smile returned to his face. "So she's fair game and both of us are going for her" he said matter-of-factly and I nodded in response. "Well then the best of luck to you mate!" He said as he stuck his hand out. I grinned and laughed as I shook his hand and he added his own laughter to the lot too. We had just quieted down when Jessie returned to the table. She flashed us both a beautiful grin as she sat back down and went back to eating her ice cream.


	5. Chapter 5

Jessie's POV

By the time we got back to the compound the moon had already risen and it casted a glow across the trees and bushes. I loved to look out at the hills and fields at night. It made everything… calm. "Well I guys, I believe this is where we part ways" I said as I stopped at my door. I turned to each guy and gave them a hug as we said our goodnights. I hugged James tightly, and I noticed Matt lingered a little on ours, and then I quickly entered my house and shut my door behind me, waving them off through the glass on the door. I sighed a little when I saw my unfinished painting on the easel. I took a look at the clock to see that it read only midnight. I always burned the midnight oil so I flicked on a few more lights as I picked back up a few paint brushes and got back to 'work'. The colors swirled together beautifully in front of me and I lost myself in them. I had no idea how long I just stood there painting but I actually jumped when there was a knocking at my door. I turned to see Luke letting himself in with his usual goofy smile plastered on his face. In the 10 years that I had known Luke I had only seen him angry once, and that was only because some kids had spray painted some graffiti on his house. "So Jay how was your walk?" He asked casually. I didn't bother looking at him as I replied. I knew he was just wandering around my house looking at my latest art projects. "It was pretty fun. Those guys are actually really nice" I heard him chuckle softly when I said that. "Yeah they're pretty cool" He said, "Hey, speaking of them, do you think you could make dinner tomorrow to welcome them to California?" I knew he would ask something like that. I usually cooked for the new bands but for some reason he always felt the need to ask me to do it. "Yeah, I'll go get stuff for it tomorrow" I said. He did a quick victory jump before he started to leave. "Don't stay up too late!" He called behind him as he slipped through the door. _You know I always do. _I thought to myself as I grabbed a new paint brush.

James POV.

Birds chirping, a nice warm breeze through the window, and a gentle shaft of light across my face. That would be a nice way to wake up. But instead I got a warrior shout and a pillow to the face that felt more like a brick. I groaned as I rolled over to see a laughing Matt by the door and Ben, our drummer, rolling around on the floor with a pillow clutched in his hand as he fought for breath between laughs. "Ha ha guys" I said groggily. This was the downfall of all of us having to share a room. The last one to wake up was the one that got the worst wake up call. As I sat up off the floor the memories from yesterday started to come back. I had an amazing time with Jessie, even though Matt was there, and when she hugged me good night I never wanted it to end. It was incredible. When Matt and I were back in the house it seemed like we had never fought. We were back to joking around with each other and even played a few of Luke's video games. And now, seeing him laughing at my pain, I knew it had all blown over. Luke walked into the living room just as I had flung my pillow at Ben and nailed him right in the head. "Oh, a little pay back eh?" Luke said with a laugh. After a quick, and messy, breakfast, we got straight into practice and recording. I kept an eye out for Jessie all day but she never showed up. When the clock struck 2p.m. I started to really wonder where she was. When I noticed Luke standing away from everyone else I ran over to him to try and figure things out without sounding clingy or creepy. "Hey Luke do you know where Jessie is?" Attempt at not sounding clingy: failed. But he only laughed and shook his head before replying. "She's probably still sleeping. She tends to do this when she stays up way to late painting or doing something" I actually felt a little better at that response. It meant she wasn't avoiding me or that she didn't want to hang out with me. "Hey, can you go wake her up for me? She hates sleeping the day away. Plus she's supposed to go get stuff for dinner" he said with a small chuckle. I had to stop myself from smiling at the thought of seeing her. I quickly agreed to it and stepped out of his house. The door to her house made a slight groan as I pushed it open to see a house full of color. There was art on every wall and covering every surface. In fact, her walls were painted with different murals. I wandered further into the house with my eyes glued to all the beautiful paintings. Until, that is, my eyes locked onto the sleeping form of Jessie on a bed in the corner of the living room. It was a sight that I will probably never forget. Her blankets were in a soft pile on the floor at the end of her bed and she was spread out at the top of it wearing nothing but a tank top and panties. I was frozen in my steps and I knew I was staring like an idiot. After a few minutes though I managed to shake myself and cautiously stepped over to the bed. Once I was up close she seemed even more beautiful and I was at a loss as to how to wake her. I hesitantly reached out my hand and rested it on her arm as I softly called her name. Her head shook slightly before her eyes slid open and rested on me. Then it all went downhill. Her eyes had opened to seeing my groin and midsection, due to the fact that she had been sleeping on her side, and she let out a yelp as her arms shot out to push me away. She was too weak in the morning though to actually push me over, so instead I got a gentle push in an area that was very…awkward. I would have laughed had it been someone else this was happening to, but right now it all I could do was jump back and turn beet red. This was not how I planned this would go.


	6. Chapter 6

Jessie's POV

After hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock several times it finally got the message and stopped beeping and let me sleep. This always happened when I worked myself until I passed out. My alarm clock tried to do its job, I beat it until it shut up, and then I sleep way too late and complain when I've slept the day away. But this day was a little different. I was in the middle of a wonderful dream that involved me, a whiny little pop star, and a very large knife, when suddenly I felt a hand on my arm. Somebody was saying something to me but it was too quiet for me to make out. I slowly opened my eyes and as my eyes adjusted I saw that somebody's zipper was five inches from my face. Fear instantly flooded my sleepy body, instantly jolting me awake, and I tried my hardest to push the person away as I jumped back on my bed and straight into the wall. My head knocked off the wall and I hissed in pain as I looked to see who was standing in front of me. To my shock I saw a red faced James standing there looking just as shocked as I know I looked. "What do you think you're doing?" I practically shouted at him. I know it was rude but you try having manners after getting the life scared out of you. He just stared at me for a few moments before he finally shook himself and spoke. "W-well Luke told me to come wake you up since it is 2 o'clock in the afternoon" Now I felt bad. He only came to wake me up so I didn't sleep away the whole day and here I am yelling at him. It actually struck me as funny and I started to laugh. I must have looked like a loon but it made me feel a little less awkward, it also seemed to help him too as his face returned to its normal color and he started to chuckle lightly. "I'm sorry for snapping at you" I said sheepishly when our laughing stopped. "No no it was my fault" He quickly said. "I really should have paid more attention to where I was standing" He added with a laugh. Now that I knew who it was I could help but blush remembering how far away I was from… "No no! It's fine!" I said feigning a smile as I stood from my bed and walked to my kitchen. I was about to ask if he wanted anything but I froze when I looked at myself in the mirror in the kitchen. I was still in my pajamas and I always dressed light when it got warm at night. Luckily, though, my house was a mess and I had a pair of jeans tossed over a chair in my kitchen. They had paint on them, as did most of my jeans, but they seemed to be clean so I slipped them on as I shouted out to him "Want any food while I'm up?" I knew that Luke never cooked so the visiting bands only got fed if I cooked for them or they bought out. "No, that's ok" I heard him call out from the living room. I popped some leftover stir-fry into the microwave as I tried to fix myself up using the mirror on the wall. I didn't look to bad for having gone to bed at 6a.m.

James's POV

She flew away from me as I jumped back and her head collided with the wall behind her. She reached for her head as her eyes slowly slid back open and settled on me. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked quite loudly. I know she probably wasn't trying to be mean or anything; hell if it was me in her situation I would probably sound the same. And once I realized I hadn't said anything yet I finally told her why I was here in hopes of calming her nerves, and it seemed to work. When her soft laughter billowed out I knew I could finally relax. She tried apologizing to me but I just waved it off. "No no it was my fault" I said. "I really should have paid more attention to where I was standing" I explained. I watched as her face turned a slight shade of pink before she shook her head and said it was fine. She gave me a quick smile as she stood from her bed and walked into a room that said "Kitchen" on the door. I couldn't help but watch the way her hips swayed as she walked. The way she moved was intoxicating and I couldn't help but stare. When she disappeared behind the door I started to look at a few of the pictures and random objects tossed around the room. She had a few pictures of her and Luke in various places, and there were a few pictures of her and what I guessed was her family back home. She looked so happy in the photos and I couldn't help but notice her beautiful smile was evident in every picture. It was simply stunning. I then noticed her music collection on top of a retro style boom box. She had a lot of old rock bands mixed in with a lot of new bands that I had never heard of. I was about to pick one up when I heard her voice call out from the kitchen. "Want any food while I'm up?" I couldn't help but smile at her kindness. I haven't met a lot of girls that actually offer me food. But I had eaten earlier with Matt and Ben so I had to decline. "No, that's ok" I replied as I turned back to her C.D.'s. My eyes grazed over the labels before settling on a small picture frame sitting next to the stacks. It was a well worn picture of a small girl standing next to a scruffy man sitting in a rocking chair. He looked like the happiest person in the world at that moment and the little girls face was lit up with laughter. It was a sweet little moment. I don't know how long I stared at that picture but when I finally turned around it was just in time to see a fully dressed Jessie emerging from the kitchen with a content smile on her face. Her soft brown hair framed her face in a perfectly messy style, and my eyes slid over her simple white tank top and paint splattered jeans as she slipped past me to grab her wallet and phone. "Well," she started as she turned to me. "Want to tag along?"


	7. Chapter 7

_This one's pretty much a filler so it's pretty short. Sorry though!_

Jessie's POV

The ding of the microwave jolted me from my thoughts and dragged me away from the mirror. Luckily there wasn't much so it was gone in only a few large bites. The flavor flooded my mouth and I loved every bit of it. Stir-fry is good even as leftovers. As the flavor started to melt away I walked back into the living room and set my mind on the day ahead of me. Butchers shop first, then fresh market. I slipped past James as I grabbed for my wallet and phone, which sat on my dresser, and so many things ran through my head being so close to him. I finally settled on one sentence and took a deep breath before speaking. "Well" I started before I turned and met his bright blue eyes. I almost froze, but I pressed on. "Want to tag along?" I said with a slight laugh. His face lit up at the question and I swear he nearly hopped with happiness. "Yeah! Just let me go get my wallet" he said before he bounded out my front door. I giggled for the first time in a long time before I followed him out the door. I watched him run back to Luke's house as I headed to the front gate. I figured I'd meet him there and we'd take the long way to town as it passes the butchers shop.

James POV

When she asked that question I swear my heart fluttered a little, and I don't know why. It wasn't like she was asking me to kiss her or something; she just wanted to know if I want to go into town with her. But I couldn't help but get excited at the thought of being alone with her. "Just let me get my wallet" I said before I headed out the door and down the walkway leading back to Luke's house. As I neared the house I slowed down and hid my smile. If I wanted this to be just me and Jessie then I'd need to hide that fact from Matt and the others. As soon as I stepped through the door I was bombarded with the sound of drums and as I got further in I saw that Ben was pounding away at a drum set in the corner as Matt jumped around like an idiot. I laughed as I skirted past them and quickly grabbed my wallet out of my bag. Nobody even noticed me until I was nearly back at the door, but I was stopped by Dino, our guitarist, just before my hand touched the door. "Hey man, where are you off to?" he asked over the boom of the drums. "I'm just going to run down to town and grab some stuff" I quickly replied, hoping I could get out before Matt noticed me. "Well I need some stuff too. Mind if I tag along?" he asked over another loud boom of the drums. Every word of profanity was running through my mind at that very moment. _How am I going to get out of this? _Just as those words floated through my mind I heard Luke call out for Dino from behind me. "Hey Dino, we need to get your guitar hooked up for recording" He said to my relief. "Get your butt over here man!" he added with a laugh. Dino just gave a slight shrug of the shoulders before he patted me on the arm and walked away. I took that as my signal to leave and popped out the door. I saw Jessie waiting by the front gate for me and she gave me and bright smile and a small wave when she saw me coming. The sun was shining, my band was recording, and I was walking along with a beautiful girl. Nothing could ruin my day.


	8. Chapter 8

Jessie's POV

I was nearly doubled over in laughter when we finally reached town. James had been telling me about the high jinks he and the band had gotten into during their last tour and when he told me how his friend Ben had ended a night in a tight dress, I couldn't hold back the laughter. People were looking at me like I was crazy but I didn't care at that moment. This had to be one of the funniest moments I had had since I came to California. We both calmed down when the butchers shop came into view and I was able to enter the shop without looking like I had just escaped from a lunatic asylum. The shop was owned by an old Italian couple and they knew me pretty well, but obviously not James. When he stood beside me in line and started to tell me another story, I looked over and saw the old woman, Lucille, giving me a sly, yet questioning, smile. When we reached the counter I was giggling yet again at James' words. I straightened myself out as I turned to greet Lucille. "Chow Bella" I said sweetly. "Mattina bambino buono! E chi potrebbe questo bel giovanotto essere?" She asked, voice thick with her Italian accent. She was saying good morning and who was the man standing next to me. Well, handsome man is actually what she said. Yes, I know Italian. I had learned when I was a teenager and it is finally coming in handy. I laughed lightly at her words before answering. "This is James, Nonna Lucille. He's part of the new band that is recording at Luke's place" I explained. "Oh?" She said in a high voice. "Well isn't this unusual" Her English was actually pretty good after being in America for ten years, but she still preferred speaking Italian whenever she could. I was surprised to see an arm reach past my head and shake Lucille's hand. "It's very nice to meet you Madam" James said politely. Lucille actually seemed impressed by his actions before she walked away to get my order. While she was gone James turned to me. "Nonna Lucille?" He questioned. "It means grandmother. She has had me call her that since I first came here. Apparently I remind her of her granddaughter back in Italy" I said with a smile. She was a lovely woman and it was a joy to call her grandma. He smiled too when I said that. "She does seem like a nice lady" he mused. Lucille returned quickly with my order and she winked at me as I handed over the money. "Mantenere una presa su di lui Miele. Sembra come un custode." She said with a smile. She was telling me to keep a tight hold on him. He was a keeper. I laughed loudly as she started to laugh and James was just left there wondering why. I was still laughing when I waved to her as we walked out of the shop and down the road. "What was that about?" James asked when we were away from the shop and I started to stop laughing. "Oh, nothing" I said innocently with a slight giggle. We walked down the side walk in comfortable silence for about twenty more minutes when suddenly James stopped dead in his tracks. I turned back to see him staring at a Gibson guitar store across the street. He was just standing there with his mouth slightly open and just staring. I waltzed back over to him and stood next to him looking at the store. He didn't even seem to notice me standing there until I spoke. "You know, we don't have to be back for four more hours. You can go in if you want" He quickly ran between the cars parked on the corner, checked to make sure the road was clear, then sprinted across the road to the shop with a look of pure joy on his face. He really did love music.

James POV

"And when we walked into his hotel room he was passed out on the bed wearing nothing but a bright pink leather dress!" I choked out through my own laughter. Jessie burst out in more laughter and actually had to put her hand on the brick wall beside her to keep from falling over. She was beautiful when she laughed. She started to calm down and I noticed her looking at a small butchers shop just down the road. _That must be our first stop. _I still had a smile plastered on my face when we entered the shop and it didn't leave as we stood next to each other in line. As we waited there another story popped into my mind. "Oh, did I tell you about the time Matt and I had a custard eating contest?" I watched her eyes light up as I started telling her about it and the giggles that escaped her lips were like music to my ears. My story was cut short though when we reached the counter and she greeted the older Italian woman who stood behind the counter. I was surprised when Jessie laughed lightly after the woman spoke a few words in Italian. I knew I should have paid more attention to Italian class in school. Jessie touched my arm for a second before she introduced me. It was a little strange that she didn't say that I was a friend or anything. Just the member of the band. "Oh?" The woman chirped when she looked at me. "Well isn't this unusual" I actually felt happy when she said that. Did that mean she didn't normally hang out with the other bands in public? Did she make friends with past bands? The lady gave me a warm smile so I reached past Jessie and gripped her small hand in a firm, yet gentle, handshake. "It's nice to meet you Madam" I said politely. She looked from me to Jessie before she turned away to fill out Jessie's order. Then the name stuck in my head. Nonna. I know I learned that in school but I couldn't quite remember. So I asked Jessie about it. "It means grandmother" _Oh yeah. Now I remember. _"Apparently I remind her of her granddaughter" I saw a picture of a young Italian girl on the wall past the counter and looking over at her soft brown hair and beautiful eyes and I could see how she could be seen as an Italian beauty. I couldn't help but smile. "She does seem like a nice lady" I said as I stared at her. I was looking at the other pictures on the wall when Lucille came back. I heard her say something to Jessie in Italian and suddenly she burst out in laughter as the woman laughed with her. _Really should have paid attention to that class! _We left the store and continued down the sidewalk and Jessie's laughter finally died down. "What was that about?" She looked off at the sky when I asked that and claimed it was nothing. But the quiet giggle let me know that it wasn't nothing. It was going to kill me not knowing. We continued down the road in silence as I continued to think about what Lucille could have said to her. Was it about me? I don't know how long we had been walking but something caught my eye that made me stop dead. A Gibson store. I love going into guitar shops and seeing all the different equipment they had. The thought of the equipment they would have in The Land of Plenty excited me to no end. When Jessie suddenly spoke beside me it made me jump a little. I didn't even hear her walk up to me. "You can go in if you want" I didn't wait another second. I squeezed in between the parked cars, quickly remembered the rules of crossing the road, and then darted for the store. This day just kept getting better and better.


	9. Chapter 9

James POV

I couldn't help but gawk at all the guitars that lined the walls of the store. I wandered the store blindly until my foot collided with the stage that had a few guitars on stands and a few amps set up. It was a little area set up specifically for practicing. I looked around and saw that there were barely anyone in the shop, only 3 guys other than the cashier and Jessie, so I stepped up on the stage and chose an acoustic with a vine design creeping up the neck. As I sat down I noticed Jessie was talking to the cashier about god-knows-what. She smiled. She smiled to him and he returned it with an even bigger grin. Something churned in me when he smiled at her that way, something I didn't like. Anger? Jealousy? Whatever it was I couldn't look anymore. I turned to the guitar in my hands and strummed a few notes before I settled on a few lines. I don't even know what song it was, definitely not one of my own. I guess I just channeled the emotions churning in me and translated it into this wordless, nameless, song. It was angry, it was powerful, and it was good. I looked up to see Jessie's eyes locked on me and a look of admiration plastered on her face. The cashier was now forgotten as she slowly walked over to the stage, eyes never leaving mine. The song started to change as my current feelings changed. It lost a lot of the anger and gained some happiness to it. It sounded almost triumphant now. I looked back at the guitar as I pounded out the last few notes and when I was done I was greeted with the sound of people clapping, but Jessie's stood out the most. I placed the guitar back on a stand before I jumped off the stage, landing right next to her. "That was amazing!" She exclaim. "Is that one of your songs?" I chuckled lightly at her sudden excitement. "Actually it's nothing. I just started strumming and that's what came out" I said with small grin. And just then, in perfect time to ruin this nice moment, cashier boy was back. "Hey, I found the piano wire that you wanted" He said once he was right behind Jessie. Too close to her for my taste. Her grin dropped to a small smile as she turned to look at him. She quickly grabbed the packet of wire from his hand and stepped away from him and next to me. "Thank you" She said curtly. Her actions didn't seem to affect him though as he still pressed on. "I can come by your place and show you how to install them if you'd like" The cheesy smile he wore turned my stomach, but Jessie paid no mind to it at all. She was actually examining the package in her hands. "No, that's fine. I know how to do it" She spoke practically in monotone to him. _I can't believe I thought for a moment that she was interested in him! _"Are you sure?" he cooed "It can be a little tricky" She looked up at him sharply when he said that, but then her gaze softened and she turned to look at me. "Don't worry. If I get into trouble I've got James here to help me" She said happily. The guy seemed to deflate when she said that, but I felt ten feet tall. She quickly handed him the money for the wire and turned back to me. "Ready to go?" I took one last look at the now gloomy cashier before I nodded. As we were walking out a thought popped into my mind. I hesitantly placed my hand on her back and loved the sensation of the warmth of her skin through the thin fabric of her shirt. She didn't make me remove my hand either.

Jessie's POV

I watched as James ran up to the wall of guitars with a large grin. I loved music stores too, but he was on a whole different level of love. I decided to look over the guitar wire by the counter while he looked around. It didn't take long though for the cashier to show up. He sidled up next to me silently, waiting for me to notice him. But when I still ignored him he tapped me lightly on the shoulder and greeted me with a bright smile. "Can I help you with anything?" He asked nicely. At that moment I remembered Luke's old piano that was always sitting in the corner of his house. He'd probably be delighted if I replaced the wire in it so he could play it again. "Actually I'm looking for some piano wire" I said looking over the wire near the counter again. "Ah the piano! The one instrument I have never been able to play" I laughed as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Any specific kind?" He asked stepping even closer to me. I remembered Luke telling me something about the wire, so I relayed what he said to the cashier. "I think we may have that in the back" He said as some light strumming filled the shop. "I'll go see if we have any" I wasn't paying attention to his words anymore as I watched James, head down and fingers dancing along in a powerful melody. It was wonderful. His eyes rose to mine for a few moments before they dropped back to the guitar. I walked up to the small stage as he played the last few notes, a little hard I'd say, and stopped just before it. The store was filled with applause from the few people in it when the song ended but his eyes settled on me. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face when he looked at me. It filled me with warmth. He hopped down from the stage and I couldn't help the excitement that I felt after his song and his laughter told me he noticed it. I asked him if it was one of his band's songs, but he just smiled and played it off as nothing. "I just started strumming and that's what came out" Just as he said that I saw him look behind me and his smile dropped. I was about to question him when I felt my bubble of personal space being invaded. "Hey I found the piano wire you wanted" Said the voice of the cashier from right behind me. I had honestly forgotten about that when I heard the music, and the cashier himself. I quickly grabbed the package and inspected it to assure myself that it was the right kind. Yeah, I'm that kind of person. I noticed he was standing way to close to me so I stepped away from him, and coincidentally right next to James. "I can come by your place and show you how to install them if you'd like" He was actually trying to hit on me! Sure, he was pretty cute, that's for sure, but I don't go for guys that I meet in stores and don't even know their names. And looking at the cocky grin he was giving me, he was trying real hard to go home with me. It was pretty creepy. "No, that's fine" I tried hiding all the emotions in my voice in hopes that he would get the message. "I know how to do it" He didn't get the message. "Are you sure? It can be tricky" The way he spoke made my skin crawl. His voice was full of arrogance and when I watched him eye my body I knew I had to get the point across. A thought popped into my mind and I turned to James. I placed a hand on his arm as I smiled and told him not to worry. "If I get into trouble I've got James here to help me" I turned to see a deep frown on his face as I quickly handed him the money. I didn't mean to hurt him in any way but I couldn't let him think I was interested in him. I looked at James and asked if he was ready to leave and he simply nodded in reply. We began to walk and I didn't even think about looking back. As we neared the door I felt a hand upon my back and I realized it was James' hand. The coolness of his hand contrasted the warmth of my body and it felt right for it to be there. I wouldn't dare make him move it.


	10. Chapter 10

_This one is only in Jessie's POV because it is quite long. Next chapter will return to normal though. I'd just like to say now, as is will be important when reading this, i DO NOT know this band or anyone in it personally so everything written here about their personalities, relationship statuses, ect. is completely unknown and only guessed upon by the video blogs they have posted. As much as i wish i could meet these guys, i sadly have not. So please take this all with a grain of salt. Thank you and please review!_

Jessie's POV

We were laughing and smiling by the time we returned to Luke's house. The rest of the trip had been uneventful and we pretty much avoided talking about what happened in the guitar store. James had dropped his hand when we got to the market, which was only five minutes away from the store, and I actually wished he had kept it there longer. Never before had I craved a person's touch more then when his was gone, but I felt too nervous to ask for it back. Instead, we just dropped the whole thing and tried to go back to talking casually, although it took a few minutes before it was comfortable to talk. But, like I said, by the time we were back at Luke's house we were laughing and happily talking again. When we walked through the door we were bombarded with music and yelling, but you get used to it when you're associated with the music business. I carried the groceries into the kitchen as James headed into the living room and jumped on the back of a screaming Matt. After a few minutes Luke appeared in the kitchen to see what I had. "Can you turn on the grill outside? I'm going to cook up some pork chops" I said to him as he poked his head in a bag. He quickly nodded his head as he backed up to leave, but he stopped at the door. "Want any help with anything? You seem to have a lot there" He asked. He knew I always had a lot of work when we had a band and he often made someone help me, even if I declined. It was annoying sometimes but I know he's just looking out for me. "I might as well have some help" I said slightly exasperated. He grinned at me before leaving the room. It was only a few seconds before one of the band members walked in. I remembered that Matt had said his name was Dino, the one who was driving their van when it hit me. He offered me a weak smile as he silently walked up to the counter. I could tell he was a very shy person by the way his shoulders were scrunched up as he stood next to me. "Look, it's no big deal that you were driving when the van hit me. I didn't look before I ran across the street and there was no way you could have stopped in time. I'm not seriously injured so it's no big deal" I knew if I said that that it might make him feel better, and it did. "Thank you for saying that. And I'm really sorry for the whole incident" he said with an apologetic smile. I just laughed and again said it was no big deal before I handed him a knife and some vegetables to cut. We worked in a comfortable silence until it was broken with a loud crash and the sound of glass breaking. We both ran into the living room to see a broken picture frame on the floor with a football next to it. I looked at all the boys in the room and each one held a "dear in the headlights" look. I picked up the picture to see it was one of Luke's ex-girlfriends. I looked back at the boys with a stern look and the practically took a step back from the intensity. Luke finally came back into the house and when I looked at his confused face I held the frame up for him to see. He took it from my hands and looked at it for a few minutes before letting it drop into the garbage can in the corner. Our laughter filled the silent room as we both returned to what we were doing. A number of profanities could be used to describe that girl and we had completely forgotten about that picture. I felt so happy that the picture had broken, meant I never had to look at her again. That girl had ruined both Luke's life and mine. She wrapped him around her finger like a string and she always made a point to insult me whenever she looked at me. The day she left to be an "actress" was one of the happiest days in my life, and even Luke shared that feeling because by that time he had started to realize what she was doing. Confused stares followed me out of the room and I was joyfully laughing the entire way. Dino followed me back into the kitchen and his one of the other band members, who I had yet to be introduced to, tagged along with him. "You're the one that broke the picture frame, aren't you?" I addressed him as I started to chop more veggies. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that" He said awkwardly. I started to laugh again when he said that and I knew I would have to explain, but it was hard when you had a mile wide smile and still a slight giggle in my voice. "The girl in the picture is a complete bit-" "Wait, you're not mad?" He said interrupting me when I about to burst out in laughter again. "Mad?" I asked astonished. "I could practically kiss you right now!" I said, admittedly a little too loudly. When he still stood there looking slightly shocked I stuck my hand out to him in a friendly manner. "Jessie" I introduced myself. He finally smiled and shook my hand. "Rob Lewis" He said. "Well it's nice to meet you Rob. Thanks for breaking that horrid picture for us" I said with a laugh. He laughed along with me as he walked over to the counter and started chopping vegetables along with me. I gave him a confused look and he simply shrugged and said "I figured you'd need help" and that's when I noticed that Dino had disappeared. We chatted as we cooked and it was actually quite nice. We talked about music, instruments, food, and this girl back at home that he "fancies". Knowing that he liked someone actually made it easier to talk to him and we quickly adopted a brother-sister relationship. Everybody in the other room kept up their rowdy acts but, luckily, nothing else was broken by the time the food was all cooked and on the dining table set up outside. Pork chops with a cherry rum sauce, cornbread stuffing, and a side salad of apples, grapes, celery, carrots, assorted lettuces, and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds. Simply delicious. When you have to cater for bands of varying success you learn to cook pretty quickly. The dinner was as loud as I would have expected it to be, but I confiscated Matt's football before he sat down so there was no fighting. Matt whined quite a bit but he knew it was a losing battle. During the dinner I finally got to know the rest of the band. There were two Ben's, the drummer and the bassist, and they were nearly complete opposites. Ben Daniel, who in order to avoid confusion I started to just call Daniel, was the bass player and he was actually a little quiet and very tall. He had reddish-brown short cut hair and a slight beard upon his chin. His height actually made him a little intimidating, but after talking to him for a while I learned that he was a very nice and gentle guy. But Ben Matthews was the drummer and he was quite different. He was short with wide strong shoulders and was rowdy like Matt, and after a bout with the stuffing I learned that he often had competitions with him. He also learned that he liked to tease me, which I found HILARIOUS. Turned out Rob was a cellist, which I was shocked to find was in a band that didn't play classical, and Dino was an amazing guitarist, which he played a little when dinner was ending. All in all it was a pretty good dinner, and definitely better than some of the dinners I have had with past bands. But that's a story for a different time. We were all still laughing and talking as we started to clean up everything, but I was interrupted when my phone in my pocket started to vibrate. I walked into the living room when I answered it to the sound of my mother's voice. She sounded sad and when she finally explained why she was, I felt like stone. Every horrible emotion flooded my body and I didn't know what to do. I just stood there lifeless. I didn't even notice when Luke and everybody else walked back into the house until James shook my shoulder. Then I noticed Luke saying my name and everybody was staring at me. I felt numb and it took me a few moments before I could speak, but when I did speak it was small and quiet. Nobody missed my words though. "My dad's dead"


	11. Chapter 11

James POV

Great dinner, great night, great friends, all brought to a halt with a few words. "My dad's dead" I could see the tears brimming in her eyes, but a thousand emotions swirled in her usually soft brown pools. Sadness and fear and anger and any horrible feeling you could think of. They turned her eyes cold and they drilled into mine as I stared at her, hoping that my ears were deceiving me. "W-what?" I heard Luke stutter next to me. "What do you m-mean Pat's dead?" I could hear the emotion in his voice too. They must have been close. She gripped the phone in her hand tighter before she held it out to Luke. He quickly took it and talked to the person on the line. Jessie stared blankly at her feet as her tears slid down her face and I softly cupped her face to wipe them away. She didn't move away from my touch but she didn't really acknowledge it either. She still just stood there. The room was silent besides for Luke talking on the phone and I think it was because nobody really knew what to do. In the small time we've been here we had all become so close with Luke and Jessie and now that a huge bombshell had been dropped on them, we didn't know what to say. I turned back to Luke when I heard him hang up and he looked like he was about to burst into tears. "It's true. Pat, her dad, was in a car accident. He died in the hospital just a few minutes ago" He managed to choke out as emotions clenched his throat. I noticed Rob was about to say something but he was cut off by the sound of the front door slamming shut. I looked around and saw that Jessie was missing from the room, but I think everyone noticed it. Luke ran to the door and looked around quickly but he returned with a deep frown on his face. "We can't let her be alone right now" He said sternly. "She had to deal with her grandmother dying a few months ago and she took it really hard…" He had a faraway look on his face and I knew he was remembering it all, reliving it almost. He started telling us all where to go to find her before we all split up and took off. Matt was sent off to the boardwalk, Ben was sent into town, and I took the local park that she apparently loved to go running in. I looked up towards the dark sky as I ran along and fear gripped my chest. What if something happened to her while she was on her own? What if we didn't find her? I thought at first that she couldn't have gotten very far in the little time, but then I remembered her telling me about all the shortcuts she knew. She could be in Nevada by now.

Jessie's POV

Run. That's all the registered in my mind when James looked away from me. Run, run, and don't stop running. It's what I always did when things went bad for me. When my dog died when I was thirteen I ran away from home for a week. I ended up staying at Luke's house. When my grandmother died I ran away to California to stay with Luke. I usually always ran to Luke when I was sad, but not now. I was already here with him, I couldn't run to him. So when everyone turned to him, I left. I darted out the door and jumped in between the trees and kept moving. _My father is dead._ That kept ringing in my head. The man that had taken care of me when my mother died was now gone. I'd never see his smiling face again. I'd never again walk into his house and see him watching Sport's Center from his favorite chair. Tears stung my eyes as I finally reached the sidewalk in town, but I kept running. By the time the concrete turned to grass I could feel my legs burning and I was starting to slow down. When I was on the path the lead between the trees, I collapsed. I reached the end of my rope and I was now freefalling. I leaned against a tree as the tears streamed down my face and my body was racked with silent sobs. I raised my head to the starry sky that peeked through the trees and I felt completely alone in this world. "He's gone…" I muttered to myself between the tears. I dropped my head again and held it in my hands. The chill in the air finally reached me and made me shake even more than I already was, but I suddenly felt warmth envelope me as a coat was wrapped around my shivering shoulders. I looked beside me just as James sat down next to me and placed his arm around my shoulders in a half hug. I leaned into him as more tears came, soaking his coat. He didn't mind though. He just held me tight and softly rubbed his hand up and down my arm. It was comforting to have him next to me, even if neither of us said anything the entire time. I was almost glad that he didn't say anything. I didn't want some to tell me it was all going to be okay when they didn't know, to say he was in a better place. He was my last family member and now he's gone. The silence was all I needed. I closed my eyes as I rested my head on his shoulder and I could tell I was falling asleep, but I didn't try to stop it. My tears were finally stopping and I felt calm here with James. I welcomed the rest. And then, just as I was about to be completely asleep, I felt his head rest on mine. Yeah, I needed this.


	12. Chapter 12

_I would just like to point out now that there is no sexual stuff in this story. BUT there is innuendo in it so please dont report or anything. Just a little harmless innuendo that you would need to already know the acts to understand it. Does that still qualify under the T rating?_

Jessie's POV

I woke up to weak light on my face and the sound of songbirds chirping. I raised my head and noticed that I was still in the forest and it was finally morning. It wasn't the first time I had slept in the woods, although usually I was in a tent when I slept, so I stood up pulling the coat closer to me to block the cold early morning air. _Wait, when did I get a coat? _A groan sounded from the ground next to me that made me jump and I looked down to see James leaning back against the tree as he blinked his eyes open. Then I remembered. _He found me, even though I didn't want anyone to._ When his eyes locked on mine he gave me a sleepy smile that I couldn't help but copy. "How are you feeling?" He asked me and I noticed that his English accent was a bit thicker when he was just waking up. I liked it. "I'm better now. Sorry for making you come out here" I said as I looked down at my muddy shoes. I actually found it really strange that he would choose to stay out here with me. It's not exactly comfy sleeping against a tree. But he just waved me off with another smile. "Don't think about. I couldn't leave you out here by yourself" I just looked at him for a few more seconds before I held my hand out to him to help him up. He gladly accepted it a brushed himself off when he was finally upright, even though there wasn't much dirt on him. "So, shall we head back?" I asked him when we started to walk down the path. He shrugged lightly and said "How about breakfast first?" I agreed and we headed off to a small café that I knew of that served great breakfast.

James POV

"_That was, by far, the best I have ever had" She breathed out as she laid her head down on my bare chest. That brought a smile to my lips, but honestly it would have that effect on any man. We lay together upon the bed and I gazed up to the stars above me. "Round two?" She whispered in my ear. I smiled at her as I wrapped my arm around her waist and I leaned down to- _I was awoken sharply when my head landed on the cold hard ground. I leaned back against the tree to see that Jessie had woken up and was now standing. Her shoulder had been my pillow and right now I missed the warmth of her body next to mine. The light was shining off of her face and it made her look like an angel. A broken angel. Thoughts of last night flooded my mind as I looked up at her and I remembered how hurt she looked when I found her. When I had finally reached the park I caught a glimpse of her beautiful brown hair just before it vanished down the path. When I saw her collapse against the tree I felt my heart break for her. She was defeated. I slowly slid my coat off as I walked over to her and I remember that she didn't even notice me. I still didn't know what to say to her so I just tried to hold her close and let her cry. I didn't even notice it when I fell asleep. But here I was now, staring up at an angel with slightly red eyes. You could tell she had been crying, but she still looked beautiful. "How are you feeling?" She didn't look sad anymore but I had to make sure. She smiled as she said she was better, but it dropped along with her head. "Sorry for making you come out here" I didn't even need to think before I smiled and answered. There's no way I would want to be anywhere else when she was out here crying. "I couldn't leave you out here by yourself" She smiled and held her hand out to pull me to my feet. I made sure I didn't have any dirt on me before we started walking back to the entrance. She asked if I wanted to go home, but when I felt my stomach growl quietly to me so I shrugged my shoulders and suggested we get food. She started telling me about a café she liked so I knew we were going to go there. The place sounded amazing and I was excited to go there. Though, as we walked, something kept nagging at me in the back of my mind. Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot to call anybody.


	13. Chapter 13

Jessie's POV

The café was busy as usual when we got there, even though it was only 8a.m. But the food was worth any wait. We ordered two plates of blueberry waffles and chose a table in the corner. "The food here is amazing" I was trying to make some small talk since the walk here was pretty quiet. I had started to think about my father again as we walked, but I tried to hide my sudden sadness and focus on what was around me. "Yeah, it looks like it" He said with a smile as a waiter passes with a tray of food. "How'd you find this place?" He asked as he turned back to me. The place was pretty far off the beaten path so I'm not surprised that he asked that. "I was actually just going for a run and got lost" He simply laughed at my response. I started playing with the ring on my middle finger, a nervous habit of mine, as the table eased back into silence. It stayed like that for a few minutes before James reached across the table and grabbed my fiddling hands. "Hey, are you ok?" I looked up at his worried face and I wanted to say I was fine, but seeing the seriousness in his eyes made me know that he wasn't going to accept that. Not after last night. My eyes started to tear up slightly and I found that my voice had escaped me, so I just shook my head no to him. He looked sympathetic now as he held both of my hands in his. I held my tears back since we were in public but I knew if we were back in the forest I would have broken down again. He gave my hands a gentle squeeze when the food arrived before he let them go. I quickly wiped away the tears that threatened to fall before I ate my food. Well, I more or less picked at my food instead of eating it. James on the other hand dove right in and practically inhaled his food. I really underestimated how hungry he was.

James POV

The café was packed when we got there and I was honestly shocked that it looked like that this early in the morning. But luckily Jessie knew somebody there and we got a table quickly. We sat in a far off corner as the waiter walked away with our orders. I didn't know what to order so she just ordered two plates of waffles, blueberry I think, and assured me that they were good. "The food here is amazing" She spoke strongly but I noticed it was forced. She was still hurting. I was drawn to a tray of food as it passed and it all smelled amazing. I agreed with her. "It looks like it" I mumbled as I nearly twisted my head off trying to follow the tray. I turned back to her and a thought suddenly struck my mind. I wanted to get her mind off of whatever she was think, too bad I've never been very good at that. "How'd you find this place?" I tried. I didn't quite catch her response as another tray of food caught my eye, but she was smiling so I tried a laugh. When I focused on her again she was playing with a ring on her finger. I watched her for a few moments before I noticed she was held a faraway look again. I reached over and hesitantly grabbed her small hands in mine. "Hey," I spoke softly trying to get her attention. "Are you ok?" She finally looked up at me and I could see the fear and sadness in her eyes again. Her eyes started to well up as she shook her head. I felt horrible. I couldn't do anything to make her feel better right now. I noticed the waiter from before stop at our table so I quickly gave her hands a squeeze and sat back. When he sat the food in front of me the smell overwhelmed me and I engulfed the waffles. They were delicious! But I kept thinking about Jessie and that kept me from really enjoying them. I looked up at her and saw that she wasn't eating and I felt even worse. I sat up straight again and motioned for the waiter to come back. "Is everything alright?" He asked when he came up to the table. He kept glancing at Jessie as he asked it though. "Yeah, it's all great," He smiled when I said that. "But can we get the check and some doggy bags?" and the smile was gone. He looked at Jessie again before he nodded and took our plates. I grabbed her hands again when he left and she looked up at me with glistening eyes and a fake smile. She reminded me of a puppet, just showing an emotion and moving. "No, no, no. I said I'm fine" She insisted. I shook my head furiously. "No you're not. I can see it on your face" She pulled one of her hands away to swipe some hair behind an ear and I saw the smile falter slightly. "Jess, you can't hold this in" I tried to keep a level voice so that I wouldn't alert anyone else in the café. "It's going to kill you to just bottle it up!" She shook her head as I spoke and kept muttering that it wasn't true. "I'm not bottling it up; I'm not going to die. I got it out in the forest and I feel fine now" Her eyes deceived her though. My foot was impatiently tapping on the ground when the waiter finally came back because she was avoiding my gaze now. _Yeah, you're totally fine. _I practically ripped the check from his hand as he set the doggy bag down in front of her and gave her a questioning smile. I stood up from my seat as I handed him the money with a mumbled "Keep the change" and I gently pulled Jessie along with me. She didn't protest, even as we left the building and I pulled her around the corner into the small alleyway. When I looked at her face I was at a loss for words. She still wouldn't let her emotions show and she looked like she was almost in pain. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I pulled her into a tight hug and I didn't dare let her go. When her arms circled me all the dams broke free and the tears flowed just like they had in the forest. "It's ok, you're safe" I murmured to her softly as she cried into my shoulder.


	14. Chapter 14

_To those that have read the story to this point i would like to pose a question: Does anybody know what song has the credit for inspiring the name of this story?_

Jessie's POV

"Can we get the check and some doggy bags?" I threw on a smile before I looked up at his worried face. "No, no, no" I said as I shook my head a little. "I said I'm fine" He shook his head and as he said he didn't believe it. I didn't even believe it! But I usually don't break down in front of anyone. _But I already broke down in front of him. _I nervously tucked some hair behind my ear and I heard him say my name softly, like I was made of glass. "You can't do this. It's going to kill you to just bottle it up!" _No. No, I'm not going to die. I can't die. Nobody else can die! _"I got it out in the forest and I feel fine now" I stared at him for a few moments before I looked down at the ring on my finger. It was my mother's wedding ring. I was vaguely aware that the waiter was back and it only took a few seconds before I felt James tug me away from the table and out of the restaurant. When we stopped walking I looked up at him blankly, but his gaze was soft and it touched me. In a split second I was enveloped in his arms and I felt warm all over. The tears slid down my cheeks and I didn't try to stop them. This is the second time I had broken down in less than twenty-four hours and I actually felt good about it. I never had someone hold me when I cried before. "It's ok," I heard him whisper. "You're safe" And I did feel safe. I had never been this weak in front of someone before. I slowly crumpled to the ground as the sobs tore through my body and James leaned down with me. He never let go of me, even when his shirt was soaked in my tears. He continued to whisper words into my ears, mostly saying I was safe, and it helped. His soft voice and his accent calmed me and I could feel my tears start to ebb away as I sat there. I pulled back from him a little so that I could wipe away a few tears and suddenly I heard a shrill beeping sound come from James' pocket. He pulled out his cell phone and gave me an apologetic smile before he answered it. "Hello?" He called into the phone. I actually giggled at the way he said it, it held an airiness that made it seem like he had never been sad or worried. It made me feel better to have that happiness next to me. I couldn't hear who it was or what was being said over the phone, but I saw James roll his eyes and smile slightly as he looked at me. "Don't worry, we're both fine. We'll be back soon" He said with a slight laugh at the end and I knew it was someone from the band. Luke generally never called if I ran away. It may sound a little crude but he knows that I always come back eventually and just lets me have my time, even though he worries the whole time. Although, I guess he worried just a little more this time. There was no way James would have been able to find me if somebody hadn't have told him where I would be. It's understandable though, since the last time somebody I loved died I took it very hard. It was a very dark time in my past and I tend to ignore it now. After realizing that I had been staring off into space I looked back at James to see that he looked very annoyed as the small sounds I could hear coming from the phone would not stop. When I caught his eye he started doing a mocking hand puppet implying that the person would not stop talking and I laughed loudly at the act. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. You can talk to her when we get back" He said just before he snapped his phone closed. "I'm guessing that was Matt?" He's the only other member of the band that would really want to talk to me badly, besides for maybe Rob. He nodded as he stood up and pulled me to my feet. "Yeah, he's really worried about you. Just like everybody else" I gave him a sincere smile in response. It was nice to have someone worry about me again. "So, how do we get back?" He asked when we stepped back out onto the sidewalk. I chuckled and pulled him down the sidewalk towards the tree line. I had gone through the trees to get here but I thought it would be better to take the long way back.

James POV

She slouched to the ground in my hands and I went along with her. There's no way I was going to let her go just yet. I continued to whisper whatever I could think of into her ear in an attempt to calm her, and it seemed to work. When she tugged back slightly I gave her a little slack so she could wipe away some lasting tears. I was about to reach up to wipe away one that sat just along her jaw when my cell phone decided to ring. I inwardly groaned and gave her a small smile before I flipped it open and was greeted by Matt screaming my name into my ear. "Hello?" I said casually, as if I didn't know who it was. He hated it when I did that and it only made it more fun to do. "James! Where are you? Did you find Jessie? Is she safe? Is she still-" "Don't worry, we're both fine" I said cutting him off. I looked over at Jessie's curious face and gave her a grin. "We'll be back soon" He started rambling again as soon as I stopped talking and I laughed a little at his actions. I swear he didn't take a breath! He kept asking if she was ok and whether or not she was crying and if she had eaten yet and on and on and on. If I hadn't known him for a long time I would have been shocked at how long he could go. I started doing a hand puppet motion and she laughed loud enough so that he could hear her over the phone and that actually shut him up for a second, and I do mean a second. "What are you doing to her? Why is she giggling like that?" He must have had his head in the gutters as usual to ask questions like that after a simple laugh. He was starting to get annoying so I quickly tried to shut him up before I said "You can talk to her when we get back" and flipped the phone shut. She guessed at who it was as I looked at the phone for the time, noting that it was only 8:45. I nodded my head as I got to my feet and lightly pulled her with me, telling her that he was just worried about her. "Just like everybody else" I added and she smiled back but I noticed a certain emotion in her eyes that I couldn't quite place. We walked out to the sidewalk and I looked around a bit before I turned to her and said "So, how do we get back?" She giggled lightly and pulled me by my arm down the sidewalk. I looked from her to the pale blue sky above and it made me feel amazing. Two beautiful sights right there.


	15. Chapter 15

Jessie's POV

The walk back to the compound was uneventful and silent for the most part. One of us would make a comment about something every now and then or we'd muse about a certain shop we passed, but we mostly didn't speak. I still felt uncomfortable about him seeing me be so weak and I was also trying to keep my mind off of my father. Every time I thought of him a few tears would spring to the brim of my eyes and I would wipe them away before James noticed. When I looked over at him he actually looked pretty tired and worn out. He must not have been used to sleeping in the woods. As we neared the houses a rare cold wind had picked up that nearly chilled me to my bones. I pulled my arms closer to my body and I noticed that I was still wearing James' coat. He didn't seem to realize it though so I didn't say anything as I snuggled further into it. It smelled like him, like vanilla and honey. The smell actually caught me by surprise, but I actually loved it. As soon as I stepped past the front gates I was enveloped in a tight hug that made me gasp. My legs were lifted off the ground and I was spun around for a few moments before I was placed back onto my wobbly feet. "Oh my god! You're back!" Matt's loud voice filled my ears as I gripped his shoulder to steady myself. "Yeah, I'm back" I said. He pulled me into another hug as Luke walked calmly over to us, luckily it was a lighter hug so I was able to say hello to him. "How're you feelin' Jay?" I gave him a weak smile which he knew all too well, but I wasn't about to admit how I was really feeling with Matt wrapped around me and the rest of the band watching from Luke's 'play area'. "I'm fine, don't worry" I looked over to James and he gave me a questioning look. I really hope he doesn't tell anyone. I lightly pushed Matt away and trudged up to my front door as I was overcome with sudden tiredness. But just before I opened the door I turned around and called out to James before he went inside. He ran over to me as I struggled with the words in my head. I usually never have a problem with knowing what to say, but right now everything I thought of just didn't seem to truly cover what I was trying to convey. "Yeah?" He asked as he stood in front of me. "I-I just wanted to say…Thank you" I said sincerely before looking up at him. "I don't know what would have happened to me if I was out there alone" He smiled warmly and pulled me into a gentle hug, his warmth soothing me as his usual cold hands rubbed circles on my back. "It's no problem at all" he drawled out. "I'll be here for you if you ever need me again" I smiled at his words and gave him a light squeeze before breaking the hug and walking back into my house. I watched through the window as he jogged back to the recording studio and disappeared through the door before I turned around and dragged myself over to my bed. I gave a light huff as I collapsed onto it and sleep instantly took me over.

James' POV

The walk back was exhausting and I nearly nodded off several times through it. But I snapped to attention every time I heard Jessie sniffle. I knew she was trying to hide any tears that she had and I felt horrible that there was no way for me to stop them. I tried to cheer her up every now and then by trying to make a joke about a shop or something, but she would only say a few words back and it would eventually die down. My teeth chattered slightly as a harsh wind blew at my back, reminding me slightly of home, and I felt stupid for not dressing a little warmer. Then I remembered that I had given my coat to Jessie in the forest and I looked sideways to see her pulling it close to her and a small smile crept across her face. Her smile actually warmed me and made me forget about the wind. It was so nice to see her smile. I looked up just before we walked past the gate and I saw Matt running full force down the driveway. I tried waving to him but I noticed who his eyes were locked on just before he picked her up in a huge hug. He picked her up and swung her around a few times and I noticed the slight fear in her eyes, clearly not knowing who had picked her up. He set her back down and nearly screamed in her ear that he was glad she was back. My gut clenched slightly when she placed a hand on his shoulder, but I quickly relaxed when I saw that she was only trying to stead herself as her head was still spinning. She muttered something to him that I didn't make out just before he pulled her into another hug. He looked at me over her shoulder and I could see the mocking in his smile. I knew he was trying to rub it in my face the fact that he was hugging her and not me, which was horribly selfish. Here she was, upset over her father's death, and he's trying to one up me on trying to win her over. If only he knew what had happened in the forest, then he wouldn't look so smug. I snapped back to attention to see that Luke had joined us and he had said something to her. "I'm fine, don't worry" I looked at her sharply when she said that. _Fine? She is nowhere near fine! _She looked back at me and I could see something in her eyes. She didn't want them to know. I sighed as I followed Luke and Matt over to the recording studio and Jessie went over to her house. I really didn't want to leave her alone but I knew we were supposed to start recording today. I watched her as she walked away for a few minutes before I turned to go through the door. "Hey, James?" I turned back at the sound of her voice calling me over and I quickly ran to her. "Yeah?" Maybe she wanted me to stay with her; maybe she wanted to say how much I meant to her, maybe she- "Thank you" I jumped from my thoughts when she said that. _Thank you? She thought she needed to thank me? _"I don't know what would have happened to me if I was out there alone" I smiled at her truthful words. I gently pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back slightly. I knew she was tired as her head rested heavily on my chest. I softly told her that it was no problem. "I'll be here for you if you ever need me" And I meant it. It didn't matter what I was doing, if she called for me I would be there.


	16. Chapter 16

_Well, here's the long awaited (Not really) return of California Dreaming! For those that actually read the story, i'm sorry for not updating. But life gets to ya, and it got to me. But here's a chapter and i'm going to try to write more. Read, enjoy, and please leave a review!_

Jessie's POV

I had only slept for a few minutes before I finally decided to get back up. I sat up in bed and let my eyes scan over all my artwork before finally settling on my most special one. It was still unfinished but it was already looking nice. A sun setting over Lake Huron with a sailboat drifting into the horizon. It was going to be a birthday present for my father next month, but he'll never see it now. I slowly walked over to it and picked up my paint brush. Maybe if I finished it I would feel a little better. It wouldn't take me very long to finish since I only had to add the details to the boat. My father loved everything that had to do with painting so before I left for California I took a picture of his own boat, fully planning on using it for this very painting. I pulled the paint brush across the canvas slowly, creating a fine line of red on the side of the sail. _Hey, I finish this soon enough I could bring it to his… Funeral… _That thought stopped me in my tracks and I had to pull the paint brush away from my work. I hadn't even thought of his funeral before now. I've been to funerals before, too many for my liking, so I know what it's like. But this is my FATHER'S funeral. I was too young to have to do anything at my mother's funeral and my uncle took care of my grandmother's funeral, but it's only me and my brother to deal with this. I haven't spoken to my brother in months and now I have to call him so we can take care of this. I set my painting supplies down as I moved over to sit down upon my bed and I set my head in my hands. The last time me and my brother spoke it had ended in an argument and… well, let's just say that some harsh things were said and we didn't exactly leave on good terms. I think it had to do with the girl he was dating at the time, Claire something, and the fact that she hated me and our entire family. Unfortunately though, he loved her and she loved him. I can see that now, but back then I had a hard time seeing anything other than her hatred towards me. _I wonder if they ever got married? _That thought actually brought a bitter laugh to my lips. _If they did, I know there wouldn't be anybody on the groom's side. _I let out a hard breath as I reached for the phone on my end table, hoping that he hadn't changed his number. I talked to my father every week but he would never mention my brother for the fact that he didn't like Claire either. She had called him a dirty old pervert the first time she met him because he had called her beautiful. That was some kind of Easter dinner. I dialed the numbers slowly and brought it up to my ear, hoping someone would answer. It rang only three times before a woman's voice answered with "Hello this is the Key residence. Claire speaking" I bit my lip when she spoke, wishing that it hadn't been her. I guess he did end up marrying her. "Hi, can I speak to Cory?" I managed to keep any anger out of my voice as I spoke but I could practically hear her eyes roll before her voice came back. "He's not here at the moment, and anyone that knows him would know that he's dealing with his father's funeral arraignment" Her voice was now shrill and filled with annoyance. I wanted to scream from the sound of it. "I don't appreciate telemarketers calling right now" _Seriously? How many telemarketers refer to somebody by their first name? _"Yeah, that's why I'm calling. I'm trying to help my brother with all of it" She gasped slightly when I said brother before she lightly scoffed. "Jessie? Is this seriously Little Jessie?" Yeah, she is only ten days older than me and ever since she started dating Cory she would refer to me as Little Jessie. It made me want to puke. "Don't call me Little Jessie" I practically hissed at her. Ok, so I can't hold back all my anger. But that was long standing and she knew I hated that name. "Just give me Cory's cell number so I can talk to him" Another scoff. Gosh, that sound makes her sound so pleasant. "Sorry, but I don't think he'd want to talk to you. I mean, you did abandon you family" I was about to start yelling at her but a click stopped me. She hung up on me before I could respond. So, since I couldn't scream at her, I just screamed in general. I blindly chucked my phone off into a random corner of the room before I collapsed into my pillows and screamed even more into my pillow. What were the five stages of grief? I think I may be a little off on those.

James' POV

I quietly shut the door behind me and leaned on it for a second, debating whether or not I should go back out there. But she looked fine when I left her, so hopefully she'll be okay. "James, you coming?" I heard Luke say from just down the hall. I huffed slightly as I pushed away from the door and joined everyone else in the recording studio. "Hey, what'd Jessie want?" Matt asked me as soon as I walked into the room. "Uh, she just wanted to thank me" I didn't want to say too much about what had happened. I knew she didn't want me to tell them and I will treat that as a promise to her. Because of my curt response Matt dropped the subject with a sigh and instead asked Luke about what we were going to record first. The day went pretty quickly after that. We recorded about three songs in total, with only a short break for lunch, before we stopped for dinner. Well, we didn't actually plan on stopping at any certain time. Luke had just walked into the room holding Chinese take-out bags and we all just dug in without thinking. I grabbed a container of Moo Shu pork and glanced at the clock to see that it was six o'clock. "Wow. Time really flies around here" I said out loud. Matt simply snorted in response because his mouth was stuffed with fried rice and the look he made when he nearly choked made everyone start laughing, even himself. But there was one laugh missing. I looked up from my food to see Luke leaving the house with two containers of food in his hands. I knew where he was going and it brought a smile to my face. He almost seemed like he was Jessie's big brother.

Jessie's POV

I finally stopped screaming and sat there with my face buried for a few seconds before I heard a soft chuckle fill the room. I turned slightly to see Luke leaning against the wall of my room with take-out containers in his hands. "How long have you been standing there?" I said with my voice slightly muffled by the fluff that surrounded me. "Oh, just since you stopped paying attention to everything around you and nearly took my head with your cell phone" He said with another laugh. I groaned as I shoved my face back into my pillow. I always tended to forget about things around me when I got angry. I pushed myself up and glared at the food that was shoved in my face. Pork dumplings with pork fried rice, my favorite. I gave him a strained smile at his kind gesture as he sat down next to me on my bed. "So, what are you angry about Jay?" He asked casually as he dug into his Sesame chicken. He laughed again when I dropped my head at his question. "I had to call my brother…" I mumbled which caused his laughter to stop abruptly when he almost chocked on his food. "You called Cory?" He asked. Luke and Cory used to be good friends but they stopped for the same reason I stopped being friends with him. The two were practically brothers and now they never speak. I actually consider Luke more of my brother than Cory. "Yeah, I did" I mumbled. "I had to call him so I could help with the funeral" He placed a gentle hand on my back, knowing how tough it was for me. But I just wiped my face angrily and sat up straight with a scowl planted on my face. "Except it seems that he married that little home wrecker and she hung up on me before I could talk to him!" I felt the need to scream again, or break something, but my anger was cut off slightly when "Crazy Bit*h" started blaring from the corner of the room and I knew that it was my cell phone. _Wow, that thing is durable! _I laughed to myself slightly when I thought that before I went over and picked it up. The screen displayed a number that I had never seen before, but the area code was from back home so I answered it quickly. I couldn't keep the edge of anger out of my voice when I answered the phone with a curt greeting and I heard Luke chuckle from his seat on my bed. He always found it funny when I got angry and, to be honest, if I was the one getting angry I would probably find it funny too. "Jessie? It's me, Cory" His voice was gentle to my hostility and I could hear the sadness in it. It made me feel bad for being so mad but because I was so hardheaded you couldn't tell I felt bad at all. "What do you want?" I barked. "Your wife made it clear that I wasn't wanted" The word wife dripped with venom when I said it and I meant it. He married the girl that tore him away from us all; I'm allowed to not like it. "Yeah, and I already talked to her about it. Jess, can you please just talk to me?" I crumpled a little under the sound of his voice. I could hear every emotion in it just like the old days. He was horrible at hiding his emotions. "Fine, you've got my time" I said with a sigh. Luke started laughing again and I shot him a sharp look to shut him up. He held his hands up in mock surrender for a second before he dug into his food. "Jess, I need your help on this. I know he talked to you every week" I smiled slightly at the thought of our weekly conversations. We would always just talk about the most random things when we ran out of things to say about our day. Last time I had to cut off a lively conversation about Tesla's fight with Edison over the use of electricity. Thinking back now, if I knew what I knew now, I would have talked to him all night. I would have told Luke to feed himself and just sat down and talked to him till the sun rose. But I didn't, and now I regret it. I sat down on the bed, causing it to make a light _phoof_ sound. "Yeah, I was planning on buying a plane ticket and coming back first thing tomorrow morning" I heard him sigh in relief on the other end. Did he not think I would come? I suddenly heard a certain woman's shrill voice in the background on his end before he covered the phone. His end was quiet for only a few moments before he came back and quickly said "Hey, I talk to you more when you get here. I love you Jess" and the line went dead. I was shocked to my very core. My brother hasn't said he loved me in nearly a year.


	17. Chapter 17

Jessie's POV

I sat there like stone, completely frozen by that one sentence. _I love you Jess. _It had hit me like a ton of bricks. He was still my brother and now I felt horrible for not talking to him in so long. I was drawn from my thoughts by a light kiss on top of my head. I turned to see Luke staring at me with a smile plastered on his face. "Feel better now?" he asked gently. "Yeah, I feel a lot better now" I said with a slight laugh. Luke stood up from my bed and pulled me with him, handing me my food again in the process. "Come on, we can get your ticket using my computer" He placed an arm around my shoulders as we walked and I felt comforted by the action. Luke had always acted like he was my brother, even before my argument with Cory. He gave me a light push as we walked through his door which sent me flying into the back of Matt. He whipped around before he fell over but calmed down a little when he saw it was only me. "Hey Jessie, you ok?" There was the second shock of the day; Matt could actually be calm. I nodded quickly as I stabbed at my food, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to buy a plane ticket" And of course that would be the sentence that everyone in the room would hear. I looked back up to see everyone's eyes on me as Luke pushed past them. "A-are you going somewhere?" Dino asked through a mouthful of food as he stood from his seat on the couch. I took a deep breath before I spoke, which only seemed to make them more worried. "I've got to go back to Michigan so that I can deal with my dad's funeral" I hadn't noticed it before but I was actually dreading saying it, I guess these guys had become my friends. I started to worry a little though when nobody said anything. It stayed silent for a few moments before Matt looked down at his feet and shook his head slightly. "Well, you're going to have to buy eight tickets so everyone can go!" He said quite cheerfully. That was not what I expected him to say and I looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you nuts?" I asked, giving context to the look. "You guys came here to record a C.D., not follow me to Michigan!" I sounded angry but they all had smiles on their faces, even Luke. "No, no, no Jay, they're right" Luke said as he clicked away at something on the screen. "They're here for you now and they're coming with you. Besides, I can't leave these clowns alone in my house! They'll tear it apart!" He added with a hearty laugh that made all the guys laugh too. But I still just looked at them like they were crazy.

James' POV

Luke was only gone for a few minutes but when he came back he did so with a lightly smiling Jessie. I caught sight of her over Ben's shoulder just as Matt said something to her that was too quiet for me to hear. I saw her look down at her food and start picking at it. The way she looked reminded me of how she looked in the forest. She spoke quietly to him but I managed to catch the end of her sentence. Everyone seemed to catch it. "…need to buy a plane ticket" Everyone turned to look at her when she said that. It felt almost like my heart had stopped at that moment, and I tried to say something but I just stood there with my mouth hanging open. Luke snapped me out of it though when he patted me on the shoulder as he passed by me and took a seat at his computer desk. "A-are you going somewhere?" Dino took the words right out of my mouth. I looked at her sympathetically as she told us about her father's funeral. I quickly looked to Luke to see him bringing up a page for American Airlines. I almost wanted to stop him, tell him not to allow her to buy a ticket and make her stay here, take control of her money, even take down a freaking pla- "Well you're going to have to buy eight tickets so everyone can go!" Matt's statement drew me away from my train of thought and brought my sight away from the computer screen. She just simply stared at him for a few moments before she blew up. "Are you nuts?" She yelled at him. I smiled at her outburst along with everyone else. We all knew that if you started yelling at Matt to not do something it would only make him more determined to do it. I was going to add something but Luke beat me to the punch, and at this point I didn't mind. "They're here for you now and they're coming with you" _True._ "Besides, I can't leave these clowns alone in my house! They'll tear it apart!" _Also true. _We all couldn't help but laugh when he said that, but Jessie didn't see the humor. "I can't bring five men to my father's funeral who are complete strangers to everyone!" Matt was still taking everything lightly but I could see she was getting frustrated with us so I stepped past everyone and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Hey, just relax. We're doing this to help you and there's no way you can back out of it" I said calmly. She looked up at me and looking into her eyes made me nearly forgot everything else but her. Her eyes were so big and such a deep brown that I could have stared forever. But I shook my mind back to the present and managed to gather my thoughts back. "How about we all go with you to Michigan but only Luke and I go to the funeral?" A small smile spread across her face when Matt added a "Me too!" to the end of my sentence. She stared at our determined smiles for a few more seconds before her head drooped and she sighed. It may have looked like she was still upset, but as I looked closer I could see a small smile playing at her beautiful lips. She was glad she didn't have to go through it all alone. "Alright, we've got out tickets boys" Luke said as he stood from his chair. "Start packing again and we'll be off in the morning!" Everyone sprang into action at his words and started picking up all the clothes that were strewn around the room. Luke brushed past them all as he headed for his bedroom, but stopped for a second to gently ruffle Jessie's hair. It was like a big brother teasing a little sibling, and it made her raise her head to smile at him. Yeah, she felt better now.


	18. Chapter 18

_Note to those who actually read this: I noticed i made an error in the description of one of the guys, but do not fret! I will remedy this in possibly the next chapter. I dont know why i'm writing this though, since i'm pretty sure there is only one person who actually reads this and i already told that one person about this. Oh well, onto the story._

Jessie's POV

It only took me an hour to pack everything that I would need and once I was done I succumbed to my exhaustion and collapsed onto my bed and fell into a deep sleep. I forgot to even set an alarm, but I knew Luke would want to wake me up anyway. That whole day had just been too much for me and I didn't even bother to find out when the flight was. It was 6am when he did wake me, so it must have been an early flight. I was happy to wake up to the smell of bacon wafting through the air. Peeking my eyes open I spied a plate of bacon being held in front of my face. Best way to wake up I'd say. I grabbed the plate from his outstretched hand as I sat up in bed and started to munch on a piece. "You ready for the trip?" He asked as he took a seat on top of one of my suitcases. "Not in the least" I said with a snort. "But it has to be done. I can't just stay here" He gave me a sympathetic smile before snatching a slice off my plate and popping it in his mouth before I could complain about it. He could really be childish sometimes, but it only added to his charm. "So are the guys all ready?" I asked as I took the now empty plate into the kitchen. "Yeah, they're all packed and loaded in the van" I could hear him shuffling my bags around as he spoke. I didn't have many so he must have been moving them around so he could carry them. I didn't say anything else as I walked back out and quickly slipped on some flip flops before grabbing a couple bags from his arms. It seemed that he thought he could carry all of them and was failing miserably. I stepped out into the misty morning light to see complete chaos in the van. Matt and Ben were fighting each other for the front passenger seat, James was laughing from his spot in the back seat, Rob and Daniel were trying to stack all the bags in the trunk, and Dino was pushing a laughing James away from him as he tried to fall asleep against the window. The whole scene brought a small smile to my lips and a small laugh escaped them, drawing the attention of all the boys. I received only a simple nod and a small wave from Daniel and Dino and a pat on the shoulder from Rob when I stepped up next to him to toss my bags in the back. Matt and Ben both said good morning, practically in unison I may add, and James hopped out of the van and ran up to me. "Hey Jessie, how're you doing?" By the look he gave me I could tell he was actually asking if I was still sad and it really touched me that he cared so much. "Don't worry, I'm fine" I replied quietly and with a reassuring smile. I could see the question still lingering in his gaze so I gave his arm a light squeeze to try and calm his thoughts. I saw a light blush rise to his cheeks as I stepped away from him and I found it quite cute. I walked over to the brawling boys, who were now in a grappling fest on the ground, and Luke replaced my spot at the back of the Van. "Matt, Ben, stop fighting and get in the back" Luke called out to them, which stopped their scuffling instantly. "James will sit up front, I'll drive, and Jessie gets the far back because she needs sleep" he added as he slipped into the driver's seat. I glared at him through the window as hard as I could, but he only returned it with a confused look. "I don't need sleep, I got enough" I insisted. I let out a light huff as I pushed past Matt and took what was supposed to be his seat next to the sleeping Dino, who woke up as I sat down next to him. I crossed my arms across my chest and leaned my head back against the head rest. I closed my eyes to block out the annoyed look that I knew Luke was giving me through the rearview mirror. Luke always felt the need to baby me when something bad happened to me. It was nice, but un-needed in certain situations. And right now I'd rather not be sleeping. Last night my dreams were filled with the image of my father and it tore me up inside. I kept dreaming that I was sitting on the old front porch with him as I enjoyed a glass of lemonade and talked about our favorite subject, Celtic traditions. I normally tell Luke about strange dreams I have, but I didn't want to talk about this one. I knew I would break down if I did.

James' POV

Who knew that trying to pack stuff would be more chaos the second time around? Clothes were flying across the room as one person would find someone else's shirt, pants, or what have you. I don't know how many times I was hit in the head with one of my shirts that night. But we finished in less than an hour and then crashed onto any soft surface. And did I say that being woken up with a pillow to the face was bad? Well it didn't even compare to that morning, which was the unpleasant wail of a bullhorn. I was surprised to find that it was Luke holding the can as he stood just outside his bedroom door and laughed as we all groaned at the sound. "Rise and shine princesses! Plane leaves in two hours!" He yelled at us as we all tried to get up. Well, everyone except Matt. He hated to be woken up and right now he was trying to block out everyone else by hiding under his pillow. I just simply laughed and pushed him off of his spot across the couch. "Come on man, everybody's got to get up" I said. He mumbled something in reply, but it was muffled too much by the pillow which was still on his face. I would guess that it wasn't too pleasant though. I pulled a shirt over my head as I walked into the kitchen and up to the sink. The early morning sun streamed through in the most beautiful way, it almost made me forget about all the craziness that I knew this day would bring. Things always got crazy when we try to go somewhere, although the bullhorn was new for us. But I pulled myself away for the warmth of the sun when I heard Luke calling my name and telling me to hurry. The next hour flew by in a mess that could never be organized. By the time we got all the bags shoved into the back of our van it had settled into three groups doing three different things. Matt and Ben decided to wrestle to see who would get the front seat, Rob and Daniel were trying to move the bags around so that they could fit more in, and Dino attempted to catch some more sleep since he apparently had a hard time sleeping last night. I just sat myself down next to him in the van and watched the guys fight. I was cheering for Ben and laughing my head off when I suddenly heard Jessie's distinct laugh float through the air. I saw her walk up to the back of the van and I quickly hopped out and ran up to her. I needed to see how she was doing. I know she was happy when she left last night, but I know that being alone with your thoughts can ruin a good mood. "Hey Jessie," I said to catch her attention "How're you doing?" She turned to look at me with big brown eyes and a warm smile graced her lips that could rival the sun. "Don't worry, I'm fine" She must have picked up on my worry because she gripped my arm in a reassuring way. Seeing her small hand on my arm actually reminded me of the dream I had the other night in the woods and it brought a light tint of blush to my face. _Really not the thing to be thinking about right now! _I actually started to zone out as I thought about it and when I snapped to attention Jessie was already in the van and I saw a very confused looking Matt standing at the side door. He looked at me and shrugged before he hopped in the van and sat next to her. I looked at the scene before it finally registered in my head. Did I just lose my seat?


End file.
